They were already drawing up a five-year renewal with LIV Golf when Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund changed its mind. Half a season gone, 2027 unplanned, and a tour that had built its entire growth story on Saudi money suddenly needed a new one.
The Asian Tour announced a multi-year partnership with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour on July 21, 2026, ending its role as LIV Golf's second tier. CEO and Commissioner Cho Minn Thant said the deal was driven by uncertainty over LIV's future after PIF withdrew funding, and cited commercial support, new events, pathways and longevity as the reasons.
That answer skips the part that actually stings. Two of the tour's planned 2026 events are still unresolved because LIV was promoting them, and nobody has said what happens to them. That's the fifth section.
Reporting note
Built on: the Asian Tour's own published Q&A with Cho Minn Thant, Golf Digest's report on the partnership, ESPN's coverage of the announcement, Reuters' report of the Financial Times LIV story, and archived Bunkered and SCMP interviews with Cho.
Why the Asian Tour moved
They didn't plan to. That's the first thing Cho says.
In the Asian Tour's published Q&A, dated August 12, 2026, Cho states the tour hadn't anticipated the move earlier in the year and had to look at all options because of uncertainty around LIV's future. He says they were alerted just before the Singapore Open and that a busy period of discussions followed.
The detail that reframes everything: he says they were in the process of renewing the LIV partnership for another five years before the landscape shifted.
Reuters, carrying the Financial Times, reports PIF has spent more than billion on LIV since 2022 and announced in April 2026 it would stop funding the league after this season. Cho's own phrase for it is that PIF's change in investment strategy caught everyone by surprise.
He also says they worked closely with LIV CEO Scott O'Neil from the end of April to find solutions before going elsewhere. That's not a man burning a bridge.
What the tour actually gets
Four things, and Cho ranks them himself.
His stated reasons for choosing the DP World Tour and PGA Tour over operating independently: commercial support, new events, pathways for members, and most importantly stability and longevity.
Golf Digest reports the partnership is underlined by pathways and co-sanctioned tournaments, and that the deal was struck after high-level discussions culminated during the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Cho told the magazine the timing was right and that the tours had kept in touch over the years.
ESPN's account puts the agreement as effective immediately and running through at least 2029.
Cho's specific excitement is about co-sanctioning historically significant regional events with the DP World Tour, plus media and commercial collaboration. On the PGA Tour side he's vaguer, saying only that he hopes to see some pathway for members alongside a road to the DP World Tour, referencing the PGA Tour's new event structure beginning in 2028.
Read that carefully. The DP World Tour side has substance. The PGA Tour side is a hope.
This has all happened before
Nineteen ninety-nine. That's when the two tours first co-sanctioned events, per Cho's own account.
He describes a relationship that developed into a Strategic Alliance running from 2016 through 2019, built on mutual benefit, strengthening regional events and creating crossover between the two memberships.
Then LIV arrived. Bunkered's 2024 interview with Cho, flagged for age, describes a ten-year partnership with the Saudi backers of LIV that pulled the Asian Tour out of pandemic-era financial ruin. In that conversation he called his circuit the third biggest conventional tour behind the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
In 2023, per the South China Morning Post, he was saying the roles had reversed and the days of playing second fiddle to the European Tour were over, while the DP World Tour was threatening to sanction members who played International Series events. Flag that year.
Three years later he's back in partnership with them. The golf business has a short memory when the cheque changes hands, and I'd say that about every tour in the sport, not just this one.
What the LIV years actually bought
Seven countries the tour had never visited. Cho lists them.
His Q&A credits the PIF relationship with events in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, England, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Scotland. He calls the five-year period nothing short of remarkable, says the tour is truly grateful for the investment, and describes elevated purses and LIV playing opportunities as life changing for some members.
Golf Digest notes the International Series was central to LIV's promotion and relegation system, with the top two on its Order of Merit promoted to LIV for the 2026 season.
Earlier reporting on the split, relayed by ESPN and others, put LIV's investment in the Asian Tour at million with International Series purses up to million. I couldn't confirm those figures in Cho's own words, so treat them as reported rather than stated by the tour.
The Saudi relationship isn't dead either. Cho says the Golf Saudi relationship remains positive, the PIF Saudi International is poised to remain the 2026 season-ending event, and the tour hopes to resume the Saudi Open in future years.
The events nobody can account for
Here's the loop from the top, and it's the most honest thing in the whole Q&A.
Cho confirms three International Series events were completed in 2026, in Japan, Singapore and Morocco, with those three winners sitting atop the International Series Rankings. He then says the tour is working with promoters of the planned second-half events to determine how to proceed.
The Link Hong Kong Open, Bingo Plus Philippine Open and PIF Saudi International were all originally planned as International Series events. Because they're independently promoted, Cho says they'll be staged on the Asian Tour regardless.
The India and China events are the problem. Those were set to be promoted by LIV Golf, and Cho's words are that the tour is trying to determine how to advance with them.
Nobody has published a resolution. Two tournaments, on a schedule for 2026, with no promoter and no answer.
He also says he hopes LIV players will appear at Asian Tour events later this year to boost field depth. That's a man keeping the door propped open with his foot.
Four things being said about this split that don't hold up
- "The Asian Tour dumped LIV." Cho says they were renewing for another five years and worked with O'Neil from late April to find solutions. The funding withdrawal came from PIF, not a decision by the Asian Tour.
- "The PGA Tour is giving Asian Tour players a route to America." Cho's own wording is that he hopes to see some sort of pathway, referencing the PGA Tour's 2028 restructure. No mechanism has been announced.
- "The Saudi relationship is over." The PIF Saudi International is set to close the 2026 season, Golf Saudi ties remain positive, and the tour hopes to bring back the Saudi Open.
- "The International Series is finished." Three events were completed in 2026 and three more are still scheduled under independent promoters. Only the LIV-promoted India and China events are unresolved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Asian Tour leave LIV Golf?
Because PIF withdrew funding. Cho Minn Thant says the tour was in the process of renewing the LIV partnership for another five years when the landscape shifted, and that uncertainty over LIV's future forced it to look at all options with half of the 2026 season already played.
What is the new Asian Tour partnership?
A multi-year agreement with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, announced July 21, 2026, effective immediately and running through at least 2029 per ESPN. Golf Digest reports it covers pathways and co-sanctioned tournaments, replacing the Asian Tour's role as LIV Golf's second tier.
When did the deal actually get done?
During the week of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Cho says discussions culminated that week and describes it as an important period for the global golf community behind the scenes. He told Golf Digest the timing was right and the tours had kept in touch over the years.
What happens to the International Series?
Three events were completed in 2026, in Japan, Singapore and Morocco. The Link Hong Kong Open, Bingo Plus Philippine Open and PIF Saudi International will still be staged because they're independently promoted. The planned India and China events, which LIV was promoting, remain unresolved.
When will more details be announced?
Cho says the plan is further updates in September, when the second half of the Asian Tour's 2026 season begins at the Yeangder TPC, coinciding with the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. The finer details of the partnership were still being worked through in August.
The Raw Verdict
Strip out the diplomacy and this is a tour that got rescued twice by two different sides of a war it didn't start. Saudi money saved it from a pandemic. When that money vanished mid-season, the tours it had spent three years positioning itself against took it back.
The line worth remembering is Cho's own: sponsorship is driven by market forces. That's the whole story of professional golf since 2021, and everyone involved will keep telling you it's about pathways and stability. The Asian Tour's members got elevated purses for five years and a September deadline for finding out what happens next. On balance they did fine, and that's more than most people in this saga can say.
Sources
- Asian Tour, official published Q&A with Commissioner & CEO Cho Minn Thant, 12 August 2026.
- Golf Digest, reporting on the Asian Tour, DP World Tour and PGA Tour multi-year strategic partnership at Royal Birkdale.
- ESPN, Asian Tour partnership terms and International Series background coverage.
- Reuters / Financial Times, PIF investment strategy shift and LIV Golf funding cessation reporting.
- Bunkered & South China Morning Post (SCMP), archived interviews with Cho Minn Thant (2023–2024).
How we reported this. We cross-checked the Asian Tour's official Q&A statement by Cho Minn Thant against contemporary reporting from Golf Digest, ESPN, and Reuters/Financial Times, contextualised with historical interviews from Bunkered and the South China Morning Post.
Author. GOLFRAW Editorial is GolfRaw's business and tour desk.
Corrections. None at publication. Corrections policy.
Last updated. .